


Benefits

by Denois



Series: Tumblr Fics and Prompt Fills [3]
Category: Check Please! (Webcomic)
Genre: Angst with a Happy Ending, Fake Marriage, Getting Together, Hospitalization, M/M, Mutual Pining, Nursey likes PowerPoint, Prompt Fill, Sick Fic, Surgery Mention, death mention, excessive use of accounting knowledge, idiots to lovers, no death occurs though, other background or minor characters
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2018-09-30
Updated: 2018-09-30
Packaged: 2021-03-02 03:33:40
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 1,733
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/23538412
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/Denois/pseuds/Denois
Summary: Nursey and Dex got married for the health and tax benefits. Somehow, Dex kept it a secret that he was in love with his best friend, at least until he ended up in the hospital.
Relationships: Derek "Nursey" Nurse/William "Dex" Poindexter
Series: Tumblr Fics and Prompt Fills [3]
Series URL: https://archiveofourown.org/series/1693858
Comments: 4
Kudos: 90





	Benefits

**Author's Note:**

> #27 &49, nurseydex please?
> 
> 27\. Sick/Injured Fic
> 
> 49\. Fake Married
> 
> (I said I’d write a drabble. I wrote something longer than over half my fics on AO3.)
> 
> TW hospitalization, talk of death (no actual death), talk of surgery and aftermath

When they’d agreed to get married for the health insurance, Dex had only had five, very minor, crises.

He never would have agreed to it, but well. Nursey had had very compelling arguments.

“So, bro. You know how we’re living together to save money? Well, I guess freelance writing doesn’t really have health insurance? And I’m turning 26, so I can’t be on my ma’s anymore. I was thinking, we should get married and that will give us tax benefits and I can be on your insurance.” Nursey had had a powerpoint and everything.

“This just sounds like it’s going to increase the cost of my insurance.” Dex had not been swayed.

See, the thing was, his company offered two insurance options. One was really good, low copays, low deductible, expansive provider network. And it cost about half his paycheck in premiums just for him, much less a spouse or family option. But Dex almost never got sick beyond a seasonal cold that only lasts a day or two, so he had signed up for the cheap crap. Yearly check ups were covered 100% but everything else was under a deductible and would cost a ton.

“I’ll pay the difference.” Nursey was trying to give puppy eyes, as if that worked more than 60% of the time.

Dex closed his eyes and sighed. “It won’t work. I have the crap insurance because I never need to go to the doctor. But you trip and hurt yourself every other week. Even if, IF, we got married so I could add you to my insurance, they won’t let me change plans until open enrollment which means it won’t go into effect until next January. You’d still be essentially without insurance for almost a full year. Just get something on the marketplace.”

Nursey pressed a button to advance to the next slide. The title proclaimed “Why not the marketplace?” Apparently, Dex was more predictable than he thought. Dex frowned.

Nursey was grinning. “Health insurance is only one of the benefits of us getting married. I don’t actually need the health insurance, I can pay for any hospital visits and such. But the tax benefits of having health insurance and of being married are really good. Especially when there’s an income disparity because you get double the tax shelter. And since most of my money doesn’t count as ordinary income and you have almost no capital gains, we can share those shelters.”

Dex could feel his brow furrowing, but Nursey pressed on. “Plus, we’d get to have a wedding and you know how happy it would make your ma to see you get married. She worries, Will. She worries.”

And maybe that was what did it. Because Dex knew that his ma loved Nursey, probably more than she loved Dex himself. According to Ransom’s Excel there was a 93% chance that she loved Nursey more than Dex and Dex had more faith in Ransom’s Excel than anything else on Earth.

The wedding happened in March. It only happened that quick because apparently neither of their moms had any chill and had been planning it behind their backs for years. Which is when the crises started.

The first internal crisis was about how he couldn’t tell his Ma that it wasn’t real because she was so happy that they’d “finally gotten everything sorted and were willing to tell the family.”

The second internal crisis was because holy shit, it is real for him but it’s not for Nursey.

The third internal crisis was about how to keep Nursey from realizing it was real while making his Ma think it was. Actually, the fourth and fifth were about that too.

The ceremony was beautiful and Dex might have kept a photo of Nursey and him in his wallet. Nursey wearing Dex’s grandmother’s veil along with his tux, both of them with stephanotis blossoms at the lapel. It was a great photo.

The honeymoon was typical. Nursey had booked a honeymoon suite, insisting they had to go all in with a honeymoon and everything or people would know. Dex had spent the week sleeping on the couch. It was a really comfortable couch, all things considered.

And then things had pretty much gone back to normal.

All of this ran through Dex’s mind in mid December. He was pretty sure that the abdominal pain, nausea and fever were just a minor stomach virus, or maybe a result of letting Nursey cook the night before. But right before he passed out, he had a clear and definite thought that Nursey had jinxed him and this was definitely all Nursey’s fault.

* * *

When he woke up, it was to soft whirring of machines and an incessant beeping noise. A man stood next to his bed, making notes from one of the displays.

“Where’m I?”

“Allen Hospital. You had acute appendicitis. They probably would have had you up and out in a few hours, but it burst and they want to make sure there’s no infection.” The nurse had a nice voice. And nice cheekbones. And nice, shiny black hair.

“I need to call my ma. She’ll kill me if I die without telling her I’m in the hospital.” Dex dragged his eyes away from the hot nurse and tried to find his phone.

His search was interrupted by a snort. “You aren’t going to die. Most likely. You’re recovering really well. And I think your husband called your parents.”

“My husband?” Dex turned back to the very attractive but obviously confused nurse.

“Mmhmm. Tall, dark, and handsome? Head over heels for you? Ringing any bells? A bit of memory loss happens sometimes with the anesthesia.”

Dex thought the nurse was laughing at him. Not out loud, just in the eyes. He let his head sink back against the pillow again. “Nursey. You’re mostly right. We’re just married for the tax benefits, and health insurance.” He didn’t remember giving his mouth permission to say that out loud. Or to sound so wistful.

“I’ve seen tax benefit spouses. That man is no tax benefit spouse. He hadn’t left this room for over 24 hours until I forced him to go get some food.” The nurse paused and looked thoughtful. “He told me that as soon as he left, you’d wake up, just out of spite and pettiness. I’d guess he really knows you.”

Dex decided that the hot nurse had a really nice smile and a mean chirp. He should tell Nursey to wheel the nurse. First because the phrase amused him, but also, well, Nursey should have a chance to find someone he really wanted to be with. Not just someone for tax benefits and that he lived with to save money.

“If I die, it’s ok. I’ve already been living in hell. Got everything I want, but only on paper.” Dex sighed and let his eyes close.

* * *

The next time Dex woke up, the room was brighter, so it was probably day time. He was also concerned that something had gone horribly wrong while he slept because he was pretty sure he now had a crush injury to his hand. He needed his phone so he could text Ransom and ask if that was a normal complication from appendectomies.

The problem was that his hand was still in a lot of pain, and when he tried to move it he couldn’t. Trying to move it did change the pain though. The crushing feeling lifted and was quickly replaced with pins and needles as the blood flow returned to his fingers, and then the crushing feeling came back, but on his chest.

“You’re awake! I was so worried. Seth said that you woke up while I was gone. I told him that you’d do that just to be contrary.” Nursey’s voice was muffled because he seemed to be speaking directly into Dex’s sternum.

Dex flapped his hands at Nursey. “Can’t breathe.”

Finally, Nursey pulled back slightly, turning his head and allowing his eyes to roam over Dex’s face.

Dex felt a pain in his chest that he couldn’t attribute to the weight of a former hockey player laying on him, so he averted his gaze. “Seth the nurse? Wicked hot? Asian? With the nice cheekbones?”

Dex felt Nursey pull back even more. “Uh. yeah.” His voice sounded stilted.

“You should ask him out. He seemed nice. You’d make a super attractive couple.” The beauty of saying this after surgery was that the roughness of his voice could completely be blamed on the tube they’d had down his throat the day before and not on emotions.

“It’s pretty unchill to hit on your husband’s nurse while your hubby is in the hospital.”

Dex lifted a hand and waved it a bit. “It’s ok. I explained that you only married me for my tax benefits. He’ll understand.” Dex furrowed his brow in concentration. “Maybe he’ll stop arguing with me about that being true too. Whatever. I got to be married to you. Now you should get a chance to be happy.”

Dex knew he was staring past Nursey’s right ear and also decided it was a good time to close his mouth and keep it that way. Apparently, he was on some medications with side effects that included his mouth saying things without input from his brain. Wasn’t there some rule about informed consent and telling people about side effects like that?

“God. You really are a dumbass.” Nursey’s voice sounded impossibly fond, almost as fond as his lips felt a second later as they pressed against Dex’s. They’d kissed at their wedding, of course. But as much as he’d thought about that kiss while alone in his bed or the shower, it was short and perfunctory. Nothing at all like the soft, tender, exploratory kiss that Nursey was laying on him now.

Nursey started to pull away and Dex fought gravity to get his hands on Nursey and pull him back. “I may be dead but if they messed up and sent me to heaven, I’m getting my money’s worth.”

Nursey returned the kiss languidly until the machine monitoring Dex’s pulse started beeping loudly. Pulling back, he cupped Dex’s face and let his thumb trail over his cheek. “Once you’re fully recovered, I’d like a do over on our honeymoon.”

Dex allowed his head to press into Nursey’s hand. “Yeah. That sounds like a plan.”


End file.
